Usain Bolt defends Olympic gold

London
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Was there really any doubt? Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt successfully defended his Olympic reign as fastest man in the world, easily winning the 100 m final. His countryman and running partner, Yohan Blake, took the silver.

After a typically 'slow' start, Bolt started a huge power surge at about the halfway mark and then proceeded to blow away the competition, says CBC. While Bolt normally likes to coast to victory, this time he put all his energy into winning against the fastest set of sprinters the 100 m has ever seen.

Bolt set the track on fire with a new Olympic record time of 9.63 seconds. This is the second fastest time in the history of 100 m sprinting, the fastest being Bolt's own World record in 2009 of 9.58 seconds.

Bolt becomes the first person since Carl Lewis to win the 100 m in back-to-back Olympic games.

As a front runner going into the final, one might expect Blake to be a bit crushed after coming in second tonight. But he was far from it. Blake was thrilled for Bolt, as seen in video coverage from CTV.

In another first, seven of the eight sprinters in the final posted times under 10 seconds. The eighth sprinter, Jamaica's Asafa Powell, could also have met this time but unfortunately had an injury during the race that slowed him down.

Tomorrow, Bolt will compete in the 200 m sprint. If he wins gold, he will become the first person ever to do so in back-to-back Olympics. He will also compete in the 4x100 m relay.

A photo-finish image of Usain Bolt of Jamaica winning the men's 100m final on Day 9 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium